Meet Brooke Goudy and Jesse Griffiths, experts in everyday adventure. Both have created unique and exceptional lives fueled by wildly different outdoor experiences. What they do share is an understanding of the lasting benefits of motivated activity鈥攁nd a common love of the Taco that gets them there.
Brooke Goudy
A few years ago, would have said her greatest accomplishment was a 55-day bikepacking trip completing the Great Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico. Now, she鈥檚 most proud of how her organization, Rowdy Goudy, inspires more women of color to experience the same joy she does on a bike. And though she continues building community and launching adventures on top of a busy day job as a Denver-based school nurse, Goudy still calls herself an ordinary, everyday person鈥攑roof of her message that everyone is capable of incredible feats.
What I’ve Gained from 国产吃瓜黑料:
Those extraordinary adventures aren鈥檛 reserved for a certain type of people. They鈥檙e for all of us. And it鈥檚 a lot easier to believe you can do these big, incredible adventures when you can see representation of people like you doing extraordinary things.
Each person鈥檚 extraordinary adventure is different. In my mind, it鈥檚 got to be epic. When you think about it, your heart starts pounding and you鈥檙e so nervous and there鈥檚 a small part of you that thinks 鈥淚 can鈥檛 do it.鈥 It鈥檚 got to be something that I could be like 鈥淵ou鈥檒l never guess what I just did!鈥
And I really like big adventures where you really have to prepare yourself. (I signed up for a half marathon this spring.) Sometimes it might take months of preparation to get there.
People say 鈥淗ow did you ride 160 miles in one day?鈥 It鈥檚 just right foot, left foot. We all get to a struggle point, but you just have to keep going.
One of the most helpful things for me is getting out of the city. If we go into the quiet, we can hear those whispers of inspiration: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e amazing, you鈥檙e so strong, you are resilient, you are persistent.鈥
Cycling to me is my ability to show my resilience, my persistence, my strength. It allows me to show the world that I can travel far, that I can do hard things.
I snowboard every weekend in winter, and I do yoga. I run. I鈥檓 not averse to any outdoor activity there is. It really is about going out there and enjoying myself and finding joy and other people seeing that joy.
That overwhelming sense of joy that happens when I鈥檓 having one of those phenomenal days on my bike and everything鈥檚 really connecting is that there鈥檚 just not anything better than that.
Jesse Griffiths
Born and raised in North Texas, loves being outdoors. Whether it鈥檚 fishing or hunting, most of Griffiths鈥 activities are food-motivated. He opened his Austin restaurant, Dai Due, in 2006 to define the regional cuisine of central Texas with local ingredients. He cares deeply about his ingredients鈥 sources and their practices. In addition to his restaurant, Griffiths is a father, outdoor educator, and occasional hunting guide. He also authored the James Beard Award鈥搘inning The Hog Book and upcoming The Turkey Book. With all of these pursuits, Griffiths鈥 greatest challenge is finding the time to adventure鈥攁nd fill up his own freezer.
What I’ve Gained from 国产吃瓜黑料:
When I鈥檓 preparing for an adventure, I constantly visualize and write a lot of lists. I enjoy the preparation. I try to think of everything I鈥檓 going to need. It just helps me to be very organized. And then when you鈥檙e there, you can relax.
One of the best adventures I鈥檝e been on was one day hunting with my best friend. By the end of the day, we had walked about 14 miles in Hill Country chasing deer and hogs and never got anything. Then, in the last five minutes of legal light, we got a deer. We spent an hour before the sun came up until an hour after the sun went down just being out there doing it.
I feel a deep connection to the fishing and game in my native state. I love the bluegills and the catfish and the turkeys and the deer. I love all these things that are just intrinsically Texan.
Being able to see them out there in the woods or in the rivers, and then sometimes being lucky enough to extract them and use that as food, it fosters such a deep connection and a reason to steward鈥攖o make sure that鈥檚 going to be around for the next generation.
The greatest challenge in my life is finding time to do all the things I want to do. If you have an opportunity to go out and do things, take it. You have to remember that鈥檚 the fuel. You know you鈥檙e not going to be on your deathbed wishing you would have worked more.
We call mine the Truck of Preparedness because it has everything you need in it to survive, plus it鈥檚 a truck. It鈥檚 got flies and lures stuck in the roof from great days. When I get in there, it just reminds me of great times. It holds a lot of great memories.
My advice to anyone is to be patient. Go slow and build a reputation and know that you do that one person at a time.
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